Tacoma T-case newb ??

[Bullitt1]

My son has decided that he what’s to make his 04 Tacoma a dedicated wheeler , it’s been sitting for a couple years since he exploded his second rear elocker on mild wheeling trips. I’ve got a built TJ and he’s looking at wheeling with my group and not dumping money in the fragile IFS & TRD rear after every time out. He‘s got a set of 05 ^ Superduty diffs with 5.38’s welded / lunchbox on leafs , fitting these diffs is nothing new to me but the remaining Toyota drivetrain is out of my comfort zone! He’s keeping the r150 and 3.4 because they work great but we’ve got to get some gear reduction , is our T-case usable in a doubler or is there a more desirable unit? Do you have to go doubles or can you fit the single case with a lower gear set ? This will be a offroad only rig so streetability is of no concern.

Thanks for any info..Jeff

 

[Clb]

Look up marlin crawler?
Doubled will make him smile. Once the bill is paid. A set of reduction gesrs would suffice in some applications also.
There is another co. Making gearsets, for when marlin is "outta stock"

 

[Yotota]

Taco IFS is driver drop, Super Duty axles are driver drop, the easiest option is to keep that stock case and install a Marlin Tacobox, Trail Gear Trail Creeper crawl box, or a NWFab Ecocrawler.

You'll be into that $3500 for Marlin, $2500 for TG, and $2k + labor to build the NWFab box. I would personally do the NWFab unit.

You could also ditch the Taco chain drive case. Atlas4, R150 adapter to Toyota crawl box to Dana300, etc. It all depends on what kind of deals you can find these days.

 

[Bullitt1]

Taco IFS is driver drop, Super Duty axles are driver drop, the easiest option is to keep that stock case and install a Marlin Tacobox, Trail Gear Trail Creeper crawl box, or a NWFab Ecocrawler.

You'll be into that $3500 for Marlin, $2500 for TG, and $2k + labor to build the NWFab box. I would personally do the NWFab unit.

You could also ditch the Taco chain drive case. Atlas4, R150 adapter to Toyota crawl box to Dana300, etc. It all depends on what kind of deals you can find these days.

Thanks for the info guys. We did some looking around before starting this thread , I saw the tacobox at MC but the $ is out of reach for him. I’ve got a NWF doubler in my Jeep and have loved it, I never even thought about checking for stuff over there. I had high hopes of being able to mix and match Toyota T case parts and keep the drivers drop but my lack of knowledge has shown through.

 

[Bullitt1]

So you could go adapted older gear drive Toy gearbox to adapter to flipped D300..then you could even run a low gear set in the Dana? Interesting .

 

[Clb]

Run away from a tg "lefty"
Ask how I know

 

[Yotota]

So you could go adapted older gear drive Toy gearbox to adapter to flipped D300..then you could even run a low gear set in the Dana? Interesting .

Yep!

 

[mobil1syn]

if i was him id keep the IFS, bolt on some 37s, trim for clearance, get a fabricated 9" rear housing with a spool, doubler and ride. if hes not stupid he can keep that setup alive for a while. rack will be the weak link but again it will help him learn to drive smart and not be stupid.

 

[Yotota]

Run away from a tg "lefty"
Ask how I know

Yeah, I didn't mention this as an option because I would never recommend one to an enemy.

if i was him id keep the IFS, bolt on some 37s, trim for clearance, get a fabricated 9" rear housing with a spool, doubler and ride. if hes not stupid he can keep that setup alive for a while. rack will be the weak link but again it will help him learn to drive smart and not be stupid.

I back this 100%. I just think that he will be itching to run the tons he already has, but scrounging up some cheap 37s and investing in cases would get him on the trail faster.

 

[Bullitt1]

Yeah, I didn't mention this as an option because I would never recommend one to an enemy.



I back this 100%. I just think that he will be itching to run the tons he already has, but scrounging up some cheap 37s and investing in cases would get him on the trail faster.

Yeah…he’s done with the IFS , broke a ball joint Saturday and killed a A-arm/strut/CV’s and caliper. We’ve got some stock spares to piece it back together but when he starts sinking money into diffs it’s gonna be the SD’s. The T-case gearing is a necessity no matter what so I think it’s first thing on the list..and like you guys are eluding to , the Toy drivetrain might survive if he can crawl stuff and not have to attack hill climbs like a bouncer.

 

[Yotota]

Yeah…he’s done with the IFS , broke a ball joint Saturday and killed a A-arm/strut/CV’s and caliper. We’ve got some stock spares to piece it back together but when he starts sinking money into diffs it’s gonna be the SD’s. The T-case gearing is a necessity no matter what so I think it’s first thing on the list..and like you guys are eluding to , the Toy drivetrain might survive if he can crawl stuff and not have to attack hill climbs like a bouncer.

If you think he's going to hammer it hard, it would definitely be worth the upgrade to a better t-case like the Ecobox + D300.

 

[Clb]

Jims lefty had good results back then...

+1 on upgrading the t case for tons if he hammers stuff, same with save $$$ for the tons swap.

Ive only noted 1 ifs rig on the trails here. Yes they can be piloted well, no they done seem a good option so far.

Otherwise the stock doubled parts will hold up.
Nuthin more satisfying (sp) than a cheap capable rig

 

[Slander]

I had a blast embrassing people with my 1st gen Tacoma on 33s, with a doubler, a rear locker and a winch. The only reason I really did an SAS on it because my truck couldn't physically get on the trails my crew was running.

My advice is go right to tons, don't mess around with Toyota axles or listen to the people who insist on keeping it "all Toyota". I did that and its annoying finding parts and frankly 95% of aftermarket Toyota vendors suck dong now. Also swap in an atlas or a d300 like others have said. Buy once, cry once and then he will have the parts to swap over to a buggy or a jeep once the Toyota frame rots out from under it.

I just re read your original post and looks like you have tons already, oh well LOL

 

[Bullitt1]

Jims lefty had good results back then...

+1 on upgrading the t case for tons if he hammers stuff, same with save $$$ for the tons swap.

Ive only noted 1 ifs rig on the trails here. Yes they can be piloted well, no they done seem a good option so far.

Otherwise the stock doubled parts will hold up.
Nuthin more satisfying (sp) than a cheap capable rig

The thing is he really has to beat on it to trail ride..the 4.10’s , 33” tires and a 3.83 first gear this thing is a bit of a slug in the woods.

 

[mobil1syn]

The thing is he really has to beat on it to trail ride..the 4.10’s , 33” tires and a 3.83 first gear this thing is a bit of a slug in the woods.

before chopping it apart, get dual cases in there, weld the rear or even better track down a 8.4 rear axle and see what it does.

im assuming the balljoint was a lower with sheared bolts?